


Caught

by rulesofthebeneath (radishphilosophy)



Category: Choices: High School Story: Class Act (Visual Novel)
Genre: Awkward situations, F/M, Fluff, Hickeys, Making Out, rory being a loveable dumbass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 19:46:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18598174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radishphilosophy/pseuds/rulesofthebeneath
Summary: Rory doesn't know where Ajay went during lunch, and thinks it's suspicious.





	Caught

_ People have been acting weird, _ Rory thought to himself,  _ and by people, I mean Ajay. _ He reviewed the junior’s behavior over the last week. He’d been gentler, more open, and just all-around a kinder person. He even cracked  _ jokes _ once in a while. Rory didn’t mind- in fact, he welcomed a nicer Ajay with open arms- but he was still determined to get to the bottom of this new person that had stolen the body of his old director.

 

_ Maybe it was just the show? _ he thought.  _ The show had a lot of us under stress…  _ Then, something suddenly occurred to him.  _ Oh my god, what if he’s… dating someone? _ He nearly dropped his lunch tray.  _ That could be it! He must have a crush or… or something... _

 

He shrugged it away.  _ No way. Ajay couldn’t be romantic if he tried. _ He sighed. He’d confront Ajay about it whenever he got to the table- weird, he was usually there before Rory. Suspicious.

 

He was jolted out of his wonderings by Natalie and Clint running past him towards the lunch table, both screaming “ _ LUNCH!!!”  _ at the top of their lungs. He chuckled as they sat down with their trays, startling a very focused Skye who slammed a notebook shut and tucked it into her bag. Rory raised an eyebrow at her as he sat down, but didn’t say anything.

 

“You seen Grace?” Erin asked casually from the other end of the table. 

 

“Yeah, she said she wouldn’t be at lunch because she had to talk to her math teacher? Something about extra credit,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m constantly surprised when I remember that she somehow actually likes math.”

 

“Yeah, what a nerd.” Erin joked. “Well, that makes us down two members of the group. Ajay told me he had to work on a group project in the library.”

 

_ Interesting, _ Rory thought.  _ A group project. Hm, I wonder what he could be doing… does he have a master plan for my election? Is he planning for the spring play? Suspicious. _

 

Skye snapped her fingers in front of Rory’s face, bringing him back to reality. 

 

“Or, maybe he just actually has a project?” she shot him a bemused glance.

 

“Did I say that out loud?”

 

“Uh, yeah.” Skye crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing?”

 

“Ajay’s being too happy. It’s freaking me out.”

 

“Ugh, you’re too extra. Just let him be happy, weirdo.”

 

Erin cut in. “No, Rory has a point. I knew that not working on the play would loosen him up a little, but…” she bit her lower lip in concentration. “I’ve never seen him this  _ smiley _ before.”

 

Skye rolled her eyes and went back to her lunch. Erin leaned her elbows on the table and looked intensely at Rory.

 

“Do you think he’s  _ dating someone? _ ”

 

Rory shook his head. “Honestly? I don’t know if he’s capable. The thought went through my mind too, but I kind of dismissed it.”

 

Erin raised an eyebrow. “You know, he did date someone when he and I were freshmen? It wasn’t for long but… he certainly is capable. And I don’t know, but this erratic behavior is pretty much exactly like how he was back then.”

 

Rory waved his hand in the air. “Maybe, but… I just really don’t think so. It’s been a long time since you guys were freshmen, he’s almost certainly changed since then. And anyways, if he was dating someone, don’t you think he’d tell us?”

 

“Good point. I mean, Ajay’s never been the most open person, but I’d like to think he’d say something.”

 

“Exactly. So, it’s gotta be something else. I mean, maybe he’s happy because my campaign chances are looking so good?”

 

Erin snorted. “Please, James is gonna kick your ass.”

 

“Is that a threat?” Rory jokingly cracked his knuckles.

 

“Oh, no, honey. It’s a promise.” Erin smirked playfully. The two spent a few minutes trading trash talk, then Rory raised his hands in surrender. 

 

“Okay, I was thinking about looking around the abandoned building to get inspiration for what I’m gonna do about it.”

 

“Ooh, good idea. See you later then, Rory.”

 

“Yup, see you.” He bid everyone else goodbye with a wave, dumped the contents of his tray in the trash, and headed out into the bitter January cold.

 

It was about a five minute walk to the abandoned building, and Rory walked in some footprints that already led there so that he wouldn’t have to keep pulling his boots out of the snow. The snow wasn’t very deep, but it wasn’t quite packed either thanks to a new flurry they’d gotten that morning. He reached out a hand to push the door open, and could’ve sworn he heard someone talking- ah, no mind. It was probably just one of his competitors also scoping out the building before the debates. He walked in and looked up, prepared to level a few lighthearted threats at whoever it was, when he saw them.

 

Them, to be specific, meant Ajay and  _ Grace _ , the latter pinned up against the wall by the former. They were glued together at the lips and Rory could see a few bruises starting to bloom on Grace’s neck. Her hand was buried in his hair, his hand at her waist and pulling her closer.

 

“Oh my god” Rory said before he could think better of it, and they jumped apart. Ajay’s eyes locked on his and Ajay whipped his glasses off, busying himself with wiping them on his shirt. For her part, Grace fought a massive blush and picked her scarf up from the ground, quickly wrapping it around her neck to hide the bruises.

 

“Rory!” she exclaimed, her voice a little hoarse. “What- what are you doing here?”

 

“I was just leaving,” Rory said, a little louder than was probably necessary, and then turned on a dime and darted out of the building, desperate to get away from the situation. 

 

He made his way back to the cafeteria, where he robotically sat down at the table.

 

“That was fast,” Erin remarked. “Get any good ideas?”

 

Rory could only whimper against the chorus of  _ what the hell what the hell what the hell _ coursing through his mind. Ajay and Grace? Were a  _ thing? _ He couldn’t believe it, but he had definitely seen it.  _ Jesus. _ He tried frantically to clear the image from his mind.

 

Erin elbowed him again. “Rory?”

 

He just… he couldn’t. He couldn’t talk about this, he was barely managing to work through his own shock. He shook his head and prayed for the bell signaling the end of lunch to ring, which it mercifully did only seconds later. Erin narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t have time for an inquisition; she had to run all the way to a class on the other side of the school. Rory mechanically made his way to class.

 

Back in the abandoned building, Grace was still rubbing at one of the the fresh marks on her neck. Ajay was leaning his head against the wall.

 

“Oh, my god, Grace that was so damn  _ awkward _ ,” he groaned.

 

“I know,” she replied, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “But it happened. I don’t know if he’ll tell anyone, but we should be ready to get interrogated about it.”

 

“It’s our own damn fault for trying to keep it from them. I know we were just planning on not saying anything until we were serious, but we’re definitely serious and I guess I just… kept forgetting.”

 

“This definitely isn’t the way I’d like to have them find out,” Grace remarked, letting go of him to make her way over to where his coat had been unceremoniously discarded. She picked it up and started dusting off the snow.

 

“Me neither.” Ajay finally left the wall and circled over to where Grace was. He pulled his gloves on and smiled gratefully at her. She helped him into his coat, and they left the building hand in hand.

 

“So we’re gonna tell them?” Grace asked hopefully, looking up at him with soft eyes.

 

“We should’ve told them weeks ago,” Ajay replied with a smile. “We’re a thing, and I think it’s been big enough for a while now that we shouldn’t be afraid to tell them.”

 

“They always say relationships within a friend group are hard,” Grace hedged.

 

Ajay stopped in his tracks, turning to cup Grace’s face in his gloved hands. “Hey, listen. You’re my princess. That’s not going to change, okay?”

 

She searched his eyes and found nothing but affection and sincerity. “Okay,” she said.

 

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, a sharp contrast to the heated kisses they’d shared not five minutes ago. Then he linked their fingers again and they continued a slow walk back to the school, starting to run when they heard the bell ring marking the end of lunch.

 

She stood on her tiptoes to give him one last breathless kiss before they went off their separate ways. 

 

“Hey, and just so you know… feel free to do that anytime you’d like.” she said shyly, eyes sparkling.

 

“Do what?”

 

She rubbed at her neck, shooting him a meaningful glance.

 

“Oh. Of course.” he shot her a teasing grin and a wink before placing a kiss on the back of her hand and walking to his class.

 

***

 

Later in the day, Rory was managing to get over his shock for a bit. He was rummaging through his locker looking for his bag of ‘Rory for President’ pencils that he was saving to give out to his friends. After school they usually congregated around his locker. Erin was on her way over now, no doubt to ask him about what had happened earlier, and Skye slammed her locker shut and turned to walk over. Clint and Natalie, as usual, weren’t far behind. After a few minutes he found the pencils and closed his locker, handing them out to the congregated group.

 

“Hm, I wonder where Grace and Ajay are. They’re usually here by now.” Erin commented nonchalantly.

 

_ Probably making out in the abandoned building again  _ Rory said to himself.

 

“...I’m sorry, what?” Erin asked.  _ Shit, _ thought Rory,  _ I did it again. _ He banged his head against his locker.

 

“I saw them MAKING OUT in the ABANDONED BUILDING when I went there during lunch,” he said to the locker door. 

 

“What?” Erin asked, loudly enough that a few people nearby looked over briefly. The shock from the group was palpable in the air, and it only thickened when Grace and Ajay themselves arrived. Rory was the first to notice that Grace’s scarf had slipped to expose the marks on her neck, but he certainly wasn’t the last.

 

“Oh my  _ god” _ Erin exclaimed. An awkward silence fell over the entire group, until…

 

“Grace, oh my god, do I need to teach you how to cover up a hickey? This is  _ bad. _ ” Erin started laughing hysterically. Both Grace and Ajay turned red at this, but soon the whole group was laughing, even the shell-shocked Rory.

 

“Wait, guys, seriously though… how long has this been going on?” Rory asked, wheezing.

 

Ajay smiled down at Grace and laced their fingers together. “Well…”

 

“We’ve been a thing since the cast party,” Grace finished. “We only started officially dating two weeks ago, though.”

 

“The CAST PARTY?” Erin shouted, nearly doubling over in laughter. “Oh my GOD”

 

As everyone laughed, Ajay let go of Grace’s hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder and pull her close to him, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head. She twisted to beam up at him, and his heart accelerated. 

 

“I adore you,” he whispered to her, prompting her to turn into his arms to give him a chaste but sweet kiss on the lips as the rest of the group gagged.

 

“Shut up, we’re happy,” he said jokingly.

 

“Hey, if you’re happy, that’s all that matters. But don’t think I’m done getting all of the details out of you guys about this.” Erin remarked.

 

They all walked towards the parking lot, the whole group still teasing the couple, as the snow let up and the sun began to shine through the clouds.


End file.
